Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz headline UFC Fight Night 20 on Jan. 11

(PRESS RELEASE) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) comes to Virginia for the first time in its history on Monday, January 11th for another hard-hitting edition of UFC Fight Night Live on Spike TV. In the main event at The Patriot Center, two of the best fighters to emerge from The Ultimate Fighter series, Gray Maynard and Nate Diaz, meet again in a rematch of the season five battle won by Diaz. This time the stakes are even higher as these young guns fight their way toward a 155-pound world title shot.

In the co-feature, T.U.F. season eight winner Efrain Escudero hopes to carry the momentum from his stirring knockout win over Cole Miller into Fairfax, as he engages in another pivotal showdown against fellow lightweight up and comer Evan Dunham.
“The lightweight division is one of the most talent-rich in the UFC, and this card is a prime example of that,” said UFC President Dana White. “Maynard and Diaz are two top contenders with a history between them, and this is one of those fights that could be career-changing for the winner. The stakes are just as high in the Escudero-Dunham fight, as both of these guys are looking to make the jump from prospect to contender.”

Tickets for this event will go on sale Saturday, November 21 at 10 a.m. ET and will be priced at $200, $125, $90, $60 and $40. Tickets are available at the Patriot Center box office and all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.patriotcenter.com.

UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, November 19 at 10 a.m. ET via the website ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, November 20 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through ufc.com.

UFC Fight Night main event features a rematch of lightweight contenders Gray Maynard (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) and Nate Diaz (fighting out of Stockton, Calif.) who first met in the Octagon on season five of The Ultimate Fighter. Diaz defeated Maynard on his way to being named “The Ultimate Fighter” that season.

A former teammate of Rashad Evans on the Michigan State wrestling team, Maynard currently trains with UFC legend Randy Couture in Las Vegas. The 30-year-old with the 9-0, 1 NC record is riding one of the most impressive winning streaks in the sport, defeating an impressive array of 155-pound fighters including Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller, and, most recently, Roger Huerta this past September.

Diaz has won six of his last eight UFC fights including a win over Melvin Guillard this past September. The pride of Stockton, California and a product of the renowned Cesar Gracie Fight Team, Diaz needs a win over Maynard to continue on his path toward a shot at BJ Penn’s lightweight crown.

Winner of the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, 23-year-old Efrain Escudero (fighting out of Tempe, Ariz.) is coming off of an impressive TKO victory over Cole Miller at UFC 103 in September. At a perfect 13-0, Escudero will look to use his superior grappling skills against another rising star in the division, Evan Dunham.

An Oregon native, Evan Dunham (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) was victorious in his first two fights in the UFC, most recently earning a split decision win over Marcus Aurelio at UFC 102 in August. Now at 9-0 as a professional mixed martial artist, the 27-year-old lightweight fighter is looking for his third win in the UFC.

Coming off a submission win over CB Dollaway at UFC 100, Fall River, Massachusetts’ Tom Lawlor (fighting out of Orlando, Fla.) has already compiled a 6-1, 1 NC record with two consecutive wins in the UFC. A former three-time national wrestling champion for the University of Central Florida, Lawlor uses his superior wrestling skills to dominate his opponents.

Another up-and-coming fighter in the UFC, undefeated Aaron Simpson (fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC and 6-0 as a pro. A former Arizona State University wrestler and two-time NCAA All-American, Simpson scored a TKO win over Ed Herman at UFC 102, his second knockout in as many UFC fights.

The remaining bouts will be announced in the near future.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com, UFCJapan.jp or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC is the largest live pay-per-view event content provider in the world and the fastest growing main stream sports organization in history. Owned and operated by ZuffaTM, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel MaxTM, Shaw Pay-Per-View, and Viewers Choice. International distributors include WOWOW in Japan, Rede TV and Globosat’s Combate Channel and SporTV in Brazil, ESPN in United Kingdom, Televisa in Mexico and throughout Central America, with worldwide distribution via the Internet on UFC.com and Yahoo! Sports. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. UFC programming is distributed in 132 countries, territories and jurisdictions, reaching 430 million homes worldwide, in 20 different languages.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa® , The OctagonTM and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

About Spike TV

Spike TV is available in 97.7 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

Related Articles

About Jack Bratcher

Founder and Editor of Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) and staff writer at ADCC (www.adcombat.com). My all-time favorite TV show is The Sopranos and the first book I ever bought was on Astral Projection. I still occasionally roll around on a skateboard and play Xbox One. Reach me at prommanow@gmail.com or on Twitter at @PROMMA.